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Vanderbilt Medical Center has been named to the 2008 U.S. News & World Report “Honor Roll” of best hospitals in America. Only 19 hospitals made the cut. Vanderbilt ranked 15th on the list. “It is great recognition of the quality of patient care, education and research throughout Vanderbilt, as well as the ambition of a community striving together to be excellent,” said Harry Jacobson, MD, vice chancellor for Health Affairs. To be eligible for the honor roll an institution is required to have high rankings in at least six specialties; Vanderbilt earned its inclusion with 12 points in seven specialties. Eight VMC specialty programs ranked among the top 50 in their respective fields, including Gynecology (9), Kidney (9), Urology (10), Cancer (14), Ear Nose and Throat (14), Endocrinology (15), Respiratory Disorders (18) and Heart (23).  No other Tennessee hospital made the list in any category.

Hospitals & Health Networks recently published the annual “Most Wired” list paying homage to hospitals that best utilize technology. This is the fourth consecutive year that Vanderbilt Medical Center has been included in the list. "This is a benchmarking study comparing our hospitals to others based upon use of IT functions with proven quality and efficiency benefits,” said Bill Stead, MD, associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs and director of the Inofrmatics Center. "The Medical Center's clinical and hospital operations teams and their informatics partners are to be congratulated on staying at the forefront." Although Vanderbilt was the only Middle Tennessee Hospital to make the Top 100 list, Saint Thomas Health Services was recognized in the “most improved” category.

Levi Watkins, Jr., MD, has been named Vanderbilt’s 2008 Distinguished Alumnus. Watkins, a professor of cardiac surgery and associate dean of the Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine, was the first African American to enroll at and graduate from the Vanderbilt Medical School. The Vanderbilt Board of Trust member has been a pioneering leader not only in efforts to bring more racial diversity to medical and graduate education but also in research on coronary heart disease. "When Levi Watkins walked through the doors of our School of Medicine in1966, he broke new ground by becoming out first African American student. When he graduated four years later, he was still the only one," Harry Jacobson, MD, vice chancellor for health affairs, said. "Levi is a pioneer whose integrity, brilliance and determination blazed a trail here. His footsteps created a highway of opportunity for Vanderbilt medical students, who are welcomed here without regards to their race, their ethnicity or their background. I can't think of a more deserving recipient for this honor."

Healthways, Inc. has again been awarded distinctions from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), this time for three categories of products and services: health risk appraisals, interactive consumer health tools and encouraging wellness and prevention. Certification is the result of rigorous evaluations conducted by a team of healthcare professionals and a national oversight committee of physicians analyzing the team’s findings and determining certification based on compliance with NCQA standards.

QSource, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Tennessee, recently recognized Williamson Medical Center a top performing hospital regarding surgical processes. As a result, the WMC’s coordinator of Patient Safety and Quality, Tonda Brooks, RN, recently shared the facility’s best practices to area hospitals. The honor recognized Williamson Medical Center’s work as part of the Surgical Care Improvement Project, a national quality partnership of organizations interested in improving surgical care by significantly reducing surgical complications. Hospitals participating in SCIP focus on adopting five project standards including prevention of surgical site infections and prevention of cardiovascular complications. About 6,000 procedures are performed in WMC’s Surgery Department each year.

For the first time ever, six Nashville-area companies topped the American Heart Association’s list of 2008 “Start! Fit-Friendly” companies. The list includes Vanderbilt University and Vought … both receiving Platinum status … plus Baptist Hospital, Brasfield & Gorrie, CVS Caremark and Saint Thomas Hospital. The six recognized have demonstrated a commitment to their employees’ fitness by promoting a fit-friendly workplace that are not limited to, providing walking routes, promoting walking programs, online newsletters and tracking tools to motivate employees; and allowing staff to wear athletic shoes on designated “sneaker days.” Only 54 companies across the country achieved Platinum-level recognition … Vanderbilt and Vought were also recognized with Workplace Fitness Innovation awards.

Baptist Hospital has earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers after an on-site review, renewing its previous certification.



August 2008

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